BT 904 
.B7 
Copy 1 



€tye c^ana hereafter* 



A SERMON 



PREACHED TO THE 



CHURCH AT HARRISON SQUARE, 



DORCHESTER DISTRICT, BOSTON, MASS., 



June 10, 1877. 



By C. D. BRADLEE, 

THE PASTOR. 



CAMBRIDGE: 

PRESS OF JOHN WILSON AND SON. 

1877. 



€^e dSranD feteafter. 



A SERMON 



PREACHED TO THE 



CHURCH AT HARRISON SQUARE, 



DORCHESTER DISTRICT, BOSTON, MASS., 



June 10, 1877. 



fa 



1/ 

By C. D. BRADLEE, 

THE PASTOR. 




CAMBRIDGE: 

PRESS OP JOHN WILSON AND SON. 
1877. 



<<\* 

^v 



SERMON. 



" Thou shalt know hereafter." — John xiii. 7. 

QOME people wish to know all about every thing, 
^ right away ; and some think that what they do 
not know is not worth knowing ; and yet some others 
are willing to wait for full instruction, till God sees 
fit to reveal the hidden things that so long have been 
mysterious. 

Probably a great deal of the unhappiness of life, 
a large amount of its undigested truth, of its fiction 
under the garb of reality, and many of the puzzles 
that so bewilder the head and confuse the heart, are 
caused by the unchastened desire to know every 
thing right away ; for this longing leads either to 
settled despair, or to false invention, — and thus 
religion and morals become terribly confused. Let 
me not be understood here as opposed to visions, or 
to guesses, or to dreams ; since all these must be 
often the preliminary steps to revelations and reali- 
ties. But I simply wish to put emphasis on the fact 
that nobody can know immediately about the deal- 
ings of God with the children of men ; and that a 
great many truths have to be concealed for a season, 
and sometimes for a long season, before they are per- 
mitted to burst with all their glory upon the weary 
and the seeking heart. 



And this brings us to our second point, — that 
many think they know every thing, or that what 
they do not know can prove of no advantage to any- 
body. 

There are some who presume to tell us all about 
God's thoughts, and ways, and dealings ; all about 
the nature of Jesus, and the full intent of his word ; 
all about the processes of the Holy Spirit, and the 
application of its influence ; all about Heaven and its 
inhabitants, the human soul and its mysteries, and 
life on its good and its bad side ; all about the Bible, 
what is true and what is not true of its contents, 
what is sj^mbol and what is fact ; — yes, all about 
every thing in heaven and under heaven, in the earth 
and under the earth, just as if these people had been 
with God from the foundation of the world, and were 
all the time his councillors and his secret agents! 
Ay, sometimes these persons speak either for or 
against God, and Jesus, in such a way as to make 
the blood run cold ; for in their ranks are found all 
classes, — sceptics and believers, those who deny and 
those who affirm ; and both parties often use an as- 
surance and a familiarity which to my mind borders 
on the profane. I do not wish either an unbeliever 
or an enthusiast to use the name of God too lightly, 
or with too great freedom utter that word which 
should be so tenderly handled by us all — Jesus — 
or lightly toss upon the lips, either in derision or in 
adoration, words and truths which to me are so sa- 
cred, so real, and so important, that I would stand 
before them with a bowed head and the utmost awe. 
Then, too, I do not wish anybody to stand before 
me, be he an objector or be he a Christian, and say, 



" I know all about those eternal realities, and I can 
tell you all things that are needed." I should turn 
with equal dislike from Voltaire, or from the religious 
fanatic who tosses spiritual realities upon his lips as 
a child tosses his ball into the air. Let me be under- 
stood. I believe thoroughly in true revivals, in an 
awakening unto God and Christ, in the new life after 
the blessed pattern in the Mount ; but I do not be- 
lieve in false claims to all the secrets of Heaven. 
The great truths which are pressed upon our notice 
by the Methodist Church, — free grace, and love, — 
are the ones which appear to me the best calculated 
to lead us to righteousness ; for here nothing is as- 
sured, but that which Heaven declares. 

We come now to our third class of people, — and 
I wish to belong to that class, — who are willing to 
wait for full instruction, till God sees fit to reveal 
the hidden things so long mysterious. 

I do not wish to know every thing ; I do not claim 
to know every thing; nor do I ever expect to know 
every thing. I am willing to wait. I am willing to 
gain my instruction little by little ; here a step, and 
there a step, through time and through eternity. 
" Thou shalt know hereafter," is to me one of the 
grandest sentences in the New Testament ; for it is 
a summons to patience, an invocation to faith, a call 
upon gratitude, and a grand encouragement to every 
soul. Neither do I see any mystery in this promise, 
any isolation of common sense, any shock to the 
judgment or the experience of any one. The law 
involved in it holds good in every thing else, and it 
is what we are accustomed to, day by day. 

Suppose the little child should say, "I wish to 



6 



know all about history, and geology, and mathe- 
matics ; I wish to understand the Latin and the 
Greek languages; I wish to be a Webster, or an 
Everett, or a Copernicus, or a Newton, or a Grotius, 
or as great as anybody ever was or ever will be," — 
why, we should say at once to the little one, " Thou 
shalt know hereafter ; " and we should know that 
the child had a great deal to do and learn before its 
wishes could possibly be fulfilled. Every thing on 
this earth has to be gained by degrees ; and by this 
rule the growth of mind, body, and soul is regulated, 
and nothing is done by jumps and starts, or by 
wrenching. The desire to know may be sudden ; 
but the real growth in knowledge is a tremendous 
journey, which must be taken through all eternity. 

Of course, there are some things which the infant 
must receive right away. By instinct he opens his 
mouth and eats, opens his eyes and sees, and distin- 
guishes between friends and enemies ; and by the 
sense of touch he finds out what will help and what 
will hurt him. Herein it seems to me that our relig- 
ious education is illustrated. Some things we do 
know by instinct, and almost immediately ; but there 
are others we can never know, whatever may be our 
claims. That God is our Father ; that Jesus is our 
Redeemer, and died to save us ; that Heaven is our 
real home, if we so wish it; that kindness, and self- 
sacrifice, and holiness, are pressing duties for each 
and for all, — these things maybe known by every 
one at once. But when we are asked to tell every 
thing about the whole mystery of salvation, and all 
the items about Heaven, then we are puzzled, and beg 
to be excused until we get on the other side of the 



river ; and even then it will be but little we shall 
know, for nobody can know God save God himself, 
and his Son Jesus Christ, who was and is his perfect 
image. 

" Thou shalt know hereafter." I sometimes think 
it is well for us to ask ourselves what we believe we 
shall know hereafter ; that is, what we really suppose 
maybe the most comforting truths for God then to re- 
veal. And let us speak with assurance, although we 
base our assertions only on the supposition of God's 
eternal goodness ; for surely that is a good foundation. 

We shall know ourselves ; that is, our identity will 
be preserved. Secondty, we shall know each other ; 
that is, Heaven will not destroy our friendships. 
Thirdly, we shall obtain a more glorious idea of God, 
and Jesus, and holiness. 

I do not believe in any Heaven-life which cuts off 
the earth-life, which wipes out the personality that 
was revealed from the opening of the breath till the 
closing of it ; for such a new existence would be vir- 
tual annihilation. We shall know ourselves in God's 
city as those who were once in God's lower world, 
clothed awhile in garments of flesh. We shall know 
each other there, and earth-relationships will not be 
sundered. We may not indeed be exactly in the same 
position, close to each other ; yet I firmly believe that 
families will not be so scattered, but that thej^ can 
visit, encourage, and bless each other in all conceiv- 
able ways. We shall also get better ideas of God, 
and of Jesus, and of holiness. 

The great trouble with us now is that we do not 
understand God, even after all that Jesus has done to 
reveal him. We look upon him now more as a judge 



8 



than a Father, more as a king than a friend. We 
speak his name as if it meant anger rather than love ; 
and instead of running to him as the dearest of all, we 
run away from him, trembling and in despair. Not 
so, however, will it then be. For then God and 
Jesus will stand as dearer to us than father or mother, 
and as disposed to do for us every thing that we can 
honestly claim, and more than any thing that we 
now can dream. Punishment we may deserve and 
receive ; but oh, if we only relent, it will be so tem- 
pered with mercy and gentleness, that our hearts will 
be broken by the love that strikes to heal ! Holiness 
we shall then find means wholeness in all our powers, 
the full and rich development of every grace that God 
has given unto us ; and on whatever side of our na- 
tures we lack, our efforts on that very side will be 
redoubled, that we may advance the closer towards 
God. 

" Thou shalt know hereafter." This may apply 
also more directly to the sharp part of our earthly dis- 
cipline. We often, under heavy blows, are disposed 
to question the wisdom, or justice, or love of the 
Almighty ; and yet, although we cannot understand 
why we are so treated, let us be sure that the time 
will come when the mystery will be explained, and 
when we shall thank God even that we were afflicted. 
Our part is to wait, and suffer, and weep, and yet not 
rebel ; and, by and by, the seals of the mysterious 
dealings will be broken, and the glory hidden in our 
stripes will then be made beautifully clear. 

Miss Crosby has said, — and her words are full of 
cheer to troubled souls : — 



"Dark is the night, and cold the wind is blowing, 
Nearer and nearer comes the breakers' roar : 
Where shall I go, or whither fly for refuge 1 
Hide me, my Father, till the storm is o'er. 

"Dark is the night, but cheering is the promise : 
He will go with me o'er the troubled wave ; 
Safe He will lead me through the pathless waters, — 
Jesus, the mighty one, and strong to save. 

" Dark is the night, but lo ! the day is breaking ; 
Onward my bark, unfold thy every sail ! 
Now at the helm I see my Father standing, 
Soon will my anchor drop within the vail." 

" Thou shalt know hereafter." Dear parishioners, 
I give you these words as a chart for your future 
comfort, as a help in all the trials of life, as a peace 
when you are sick, and as a transcendent glory when 
you are about to pass away from human sight. 

Eighty-five years ago a little child was taken away 
from a home where she was tenderly cherished, and 
where her heart was bound up so closely and beauti- 
fully that the sundering of the ties seemed to be the 
blasting of that young life which God had so abun- 
dantly blessed ; and the whole horizon of her expe- 
rience looked dark and murky. Yet, could she have 
heard the angels chant, she would have caught these 
words, " Thou shalt know hereafter." After seven 
years in the new home, the young girl was again 
transplanted, and brought to the house of an aged 
friend in this city : and thus was brought about the 
breaking again of ties that were deep, rich, and com- 
forting, and which were fastened strongly and splen- 
didly to her soul ! Yet, even then, in her doubt, her 
anxiety, and her grief, and in her troubled gaze upon 



10 



a future that was so perplexing, she might have heard 
the angels chant, " Thou shalt know hereafter." 

Yet again, after sixteen years, a change came ; and 
this time it was a marriage, that lasted for fifty years, 
and after that a widowhood of eight years, and then 
her ascent to God. And as I read her " journal " 
that was written previous to this marriage, I could 
see that this great change in life was viewed seriously 
and prayerfully, and with a heart that rested sweetly 
upon God. Even then she might have heard, — ay, 
even then she did hear, — the angels whisper, " Thou 
shalt know hereafter." 

And that child, and that young girl, and that young 
lady, and that married woman, and that aged one, 
was, and is, and ever will be, the Mother of the one 
who now speaks these words. 

So shall we all " know hereafter " the reason of this 
and that, and what part we were ordained to play in 
" Life's great and splendid drama." 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



i 



021 226 185 3 



